In More Ways Than One
by DanshiDerp
Summary: After learning of his horrendous past, Zagan gives Hakuryuu his word that he will do all he can to support the prince with his efforts to bring down Al-Sarmen within Kou. Hakuryuu feels like he's finally a step closer to achieving his goal, but that isn't the sole reason why he feels warm and comforted when his Djinn is around.
1. Chapter 1

Hakuryuu doesn't like to admit it, but he is perpetually afraid of being alone. Especially at night. Especially at night in a city that he does not know, that he doesn't even know the name of.

Why had he even gone travelling on his own, again? He could barely remember now as he sat in the far corner of a local pub, keeping a watchful eye on the large group of very drunk men laughing loudly at the bar, running the palm of his wooden arm down the column of his glaive instinctively. He could see the irony in his need to be surrounded by people but being afraid of them at the same time, he really could, but he chose to ignore the fact that _he had wanted to come in here, _instead glowering at a bar maid as she tottered past on heels that really weren't advisory for her job.

He hated being alone. Being in the most crowded place he could find was actually making him feel worse rather than better, because while he was surrounded by people he wasn't interacting with anyone. He supposed he should go over to someone and strike up a conversation, actually _talk _to another human being after days of solitude, perhaps spark a friendship with them and arrange to meet up again tomorrow. He craned his neck, looking past the drunks at the bar to see who else was around: a small cluster of tittering middle-aged women; a gaggle of young girls who were doing shots together; two men who looked just a little older than him huddled together, eyes darting around the room suspiciously and talking in hushed voices; more drunk men at the other end of the pub, singing Happy Birthday out of tune to the one who happily sported a paper hat strapped to his head. None of them seemed like the type of people a prince should try and engage with.

A sulky voice in his ear (in his very mind?) made him jump violently and slop his drink down himself. "Oi, you're a rude little boy aren't you? You're not alone, _master_, I'm still here and just as miserable as you."

It was Zagan, Hakuryuu's newly acquired flamboyant Djinn. Hakuryuu rolled his eyes and put his drink on the little table in front of him, trying to mop up the wet patch on his front with a napkin. "I haven't forgotten about you," he thought, irritated now that he knew Zagan had been listening to his thoughts again when he had forbidden it a couple of weeks ago, "I just wanted to be in the company of someone who I can talk to face to face... And who isn't a complete pervert," he added as an afterthought.

"Ow, low blow there prince!" Zagan laughed, "Being a bit mean tonight, aren't you? I'm no pervert, how dare you make such accusations about your faithful Djinn?"

"You licked a young girl's body. I'd call that perverse."

"That wasn't _me _though, was it? Come on now, you remember, surely?"

"But it was created in your image, meaning that would be the kind of thing you'd do." God, _why _had Zagan chosen him? He couldn't think of anyone less suited to him.

"I wouldn't intentionally lick a human, _ew_, what do you take me for?" The Djinn made a dramatic retching sound; Hakuryuu curled his lip in disgust. "I hate humans. Magi are fine, but you humans are just... Ugh, it makes me shudder."

Hakuryuu sighed and crossed his legs, his eyes darting around the people in the pub yet again for what felt like the hundredth time that night, making sure that none of them were watching him, that his face wasn't giving away the fact that he was somehow conversing with a Djinn in his mind. He couldn't help but think that Zagan would be a lot happier in the company of Judal, who in Hakuryuu's opinion was of equal arrogance to him. "Then why did you choose me as your master?"

"Because Alibubu or whatever already has Amon, the git, and he couldn't support another Djinn."

Hakuryuu couldn't stop himself snorting into his drink at Zagan's mistake. "Show him some respect, he's Balbadd's third prince!"

If Zagan had been there in the flesh, Hakuryuu was sure he would have rolled his eyes and shrugged. "And? Like I care about the goings-on of humans. Being a prince or a princess or whatever doesn't make any difference to me, I hate you all the same."

"My, how _kind _of you." He drained the last of his drink and set it on the table, making to stand up and go back to the rented bedroom at the inn he was staying at. He had had enough of sitting alone and arguing with someone who seemed to like arguing just for the sake of it. "I'm heading back now," he informed Zagan, "and I don't want you talking to me on my way back. You're giving me a headache." _And annoying me to no end._

"Eh? You're going back already?" The Djinn seemed surprisingly disheartened by this news. For the briefest of seconds Hakuryuu actually considered the possibility that Zagan wanted him to stay and try to talk to a couple of people, to be happy. Then - "That's too bad, I really wanted you to get drunk and taken advantage of. You look good when you cry."

_Pervert._

Hakuryuu didn't respond, picking his way through the pub carefully, slipping through the doorway and out into the chilly night air; puffs of his breath rose in front of him as he huddled into his travelling coat, wrapping his arms around his body. The thought of going back to his chilly room was a sad, lonely thing; he had nothing to look forward to until the morning when he could move on. Until then he was to be left alone with his thoughts, provided that Zagan did as he was told for a change and left him in peace.

Ahh, if only.

As soon as he closed the door to his sparsely furnished room, the Djinn spoke up again. "You're wrong, you know."

Hakuryuu removed his coat slowly, hanging it on the back of the door before he replied, as if Zagan was testing his temper. "Wrong about what?"

"We _can_ talk face to face. I can have a full body outside of my dungeon, you know."

Hakuryuu gaped at thin air for a moment, his brain frantically thinking back to all his conversations with Hakuei about Paimon, to the one time Alibaba had mentioned Amon, but couldn't remember either of them ever mentioning their Djinns appearing outside of a dungeon. "No you can't," he replied, sounding childish and silly, "my sister never said anything about Paimon appearing-"

"_Paimon?!" _Zagan roared with laughter, "_Paimon _is your sister's Djinn? Oh, that's fucking _brilliant. _Don't be so naive; she can appear on Earth as easily as anything, provided that your sister's magoi can support her. Where did you hear that we can't?"

"Well," Hakuryuu flushed pink, feeling rather foolish; had he assumed too much without really knowing anything about the being he had contracted with? "Amon said you shouldn't have a body outside of a dungeon, so I just assumed that..." he trailed off, unsure of how to justify himself further. He almost screamed in terror when he found himself in front of a very real, very much _there_ Zagan, who was sat cross-legged on the floor due to his size, looking triumphant and smug.

"See?" He grinned, making a sweeping gesture at his own blue body to prove his point. "Here I am. Just because we _shouldn't_ have bodies outside of our dungeons doesn't mean we _can't_, little prince. I'm sure there are people with Djinn wondering around outside of dungeons everywhere, probably including your sister and Paimon. I'm relying on your magoi to keep me here though, so watch yourself, ok?"

Hakuryuu couldn't help but think Zagan was behaving rather selfishly, draining his magoi for his own benefit like that when he hadn't even been summoned, but he couldn't bring himself to say it lest he offend the Djinn - not to say that he particularly cared what Zagan thought, but Hakuryuu was not a rude person by nature. "So, are you going to tell me why you've decided to appear now of all times?" Hakuryuu asked, his voice not as harsh as it had been when Zagan hadn't been there in body. "Why not before?"

Zagan raised an eyebrow and ran a hand through his silvery hair, contemplating Hakuryuu for a few seconds before saying, "because you're lonely, little prince. I'm here to keep you company. God, you're _slow_, aren't you? You were sat alone in that dirty old pub leering at the staff just to get some form of recognition from a human-"

"I wasn't _leering _at her!" Hakuryuu said hotly, perching on the thin mattress of the bed and starting to take his boots off, "I was looking at her as she walked past, that's all! And could you - I don't know - shrink yourself a bit, perhaps? You-you're taking up too much room in here." He had only just stopped himself short of saying _you're intimidating at that size_. Zagan, surprisingly, did as he was asked, magically shrinking to the size of a regular human male, albeit taller and broader than his master. "Thank you." Hakuryuu said, genuinely thankful that that request hadn't lead to more arguing. "Now really, can you please tell me why you've decided to show yourself now? Is there an ulterior motive that I don't know about, or are you just here because you actually do care about my wellbeing?"

Zagan shrugged unhelpfully, his smile wide but not unkind. "I already told you, didn't I? You're lonely, I'm bored, let's help each other out a bit."

"But I thought you hated humans?" The prince asked; he could not keep up with this man at all, no matter how he tried. First he said he hated humans, then he swore he would make Hakuryuu king, then he went back to saying he hated all humans equally, and then changed his mind again and decided to be sociable with one. Hakuryuu couldn't understand him, and wondered whether Zagan was actually lying somewhere down the line, covering up something only understood by himself.

"Did I specify I had been craving the company of humans?" Came the immensely unhelpful reply as Zagan picked at his teeth with one of his obscenely long nails, "I said I was _bored_, not looking to go frolicking in the gales whilst holding your hand and laughing."

Hakuryuu rolled his eyes, wondering whether it was time to call it a night and go to bed. However, he knew that all that awaited him under the thin covers was a broken night's sleep of nightmares featuring hot blood, the dying screams of his brothers and the evil smirk on his mother's face. He shivered at the thought, bringing his knees up to his chest and circling his arms around them, resting his chin on top. Talking to Zagan, no matter how infuriating and unfathomable he was, no matter whether he followed his train of thought, was a far better choice than welcoming the nightmares too early.

"So talk to me then," Hakuryuu said, looking his Djinn in the eye now, "relieve your boredom a little, keep me company for a couple of hours. Is there anything in particular you'd like to discuss?"

The Djinn looked at him instead of his nails now. "I want to discuss you, if you really want to know. We haven't had a serious conversation since leaving my dungeon."

Hakuryuu balked. "M-Me?" He asked, blinking, "you want to actually talk _about me_ rather than wind me up? And it's not my fault we haven't talked properly, I have tried."

Zagan held his gaze, his smile gone now, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked more serious than Hakuryuu could remember ever seeing him. "I want to know you better, little prince," he said, not a trace of his former annoying ways, "if I am to pledge myself to you. I made the right choice in picking you, regardless of the fact that you were weak and useless." Hakuryuu visibly flinched, the need to defend himself swelling up in his chest. "However, there's something not quite right about you. I've felt it in you; you're _so_ miserable, _so _hurt, and no one has tried to help you before. Why is that? What is it that you're keeping to yourself? I... Well, I've never actually..." Zagan broke off, looking away from Hakuryuu now and furrowing his brow, rubbing the back of his neck as he did. "A lot of people have tried to conquer my dungeon before, you know. A few even got to me, or at least they thought they did at any rate. They all disgusted me with their ridiculous inflated self-importance; who the hell did they think they are? They were just arrogant little men looking to wield the power of a Djinn for their own benefit, to show off to others, to be little shits and use me to prove their pitiful existences. Why would I want to be bound to someone like that? I'm not a common mule, for god's sake, I won't just follow someone around because they tell me to."

Hakuryuu nodded as Zagan finally, at long last, addressed why he hated humans so much, and he actually dared to speculate, to hope, where this was going.

"And then you came along," the Djinn continued, looking back at Hakuryuu now, his expression serious, "and at first, I thought it was a mistake. You were a crybaby, a hinderance to your companions, one of which was a bloody _Magi_. But after your temper tantrum I saw there was something that tormented you inside, hidden very deep in you, hurting you. I picked you because you're not like the others before you; you have a real purpose, a proper, legitimate reason for wanting my power. I believe that purpose is connected to whatever is hurting you so badly."

Hakuryuu sat in silence for a moment, absorbing all that Zagan had just said. It made sense, really, that he had not wanted to be bound to any of those people before, made sense that he would come to believe that all people were like that. He couldn't help but feel that he had been misjudging the Djinn all along, thinking of him as shallow and hateful without reason.

"You're right," he said at length, hardly daring to believe what he was doing; Hakuryuu had told only two people about his mother's betrayal, both because that had been the only thing he could do in the situation at the time. No one close to him, not even his beloved sister, knew the truth. And yet, it didn't feel that strange to open up a little to the Djinn, despite his previous misjudgement of character. "The reason why I sought you out, why I came to your dungeon, was indeed to conquer it and obtain you, your power. I apologise if you see this as arrogance, but somehow I don't think you will." He took a deep breath in, glad to see that Zagan was not messing around with something else and lost interest; he was listening intently for a change, and what a nice change it was as opposed to his usual moaning about everything and nit-picking all of Hakuryuu's short-comings. "When I was much younger, my mother had my father, the Emperor of the Kou empire, and my two older brothers murdered by Al-Sarmen. They died in a huge fire that was planned out by her. My oldest brother saved my life by co-covering me with his blood, to stop me from burning, but I still got this," he touched the left side of his face, willing his voice not to shake again; he had to be strong here, not succumb to the pain of the betrayal and loses again, "and it serves as a reminder of what happened, and what I must do."

"And what is that, little prince?" Zagan asked quietly, not breaking their eye contact. He had known it was going to be a painful tale, but he would have never have guessed it to be something like this.

"Start a war within the Kou empire, and drive out my witch of a mother and Al-Sarmen for good." Hakuryuu said, his expression deadly serious. "King Sinbad of Sindria has already agreed to aid me when the time comes. I haven't told my sister yet, but I am sure she will help me too. This is what I sought you for, so I can become much stronger with your power and take back what I can that my mother stole from me."

It felt good to tell someone without getting angry about it, and he had felt he owed the Djinn an explanation of what he had planned for them in the future. He had wanted to tell him straight away, as soon as they had got away from the dungeon so that they could start working on a plan as soon as possible, but after taking Zagan's personality into consideration he had soon put it to the back of his mind. But now that the gates were open, he couldn't stop it any more.

"Will you help me, Zagan?" He asked, trying to keep the tone of desperation out of his voice but not quite achieving it. "Will you help me take back what is rightfully mine, to avenge my lost family and empire?"

Zagan regarded him for a moment, and Hakuryuu had to bite his tongue to stop himself from launching himself at the Djinn and shaking an answer from him. He was trembling with nerves, so _desperate _for Zagan to agree, for him to aid him. At length, Zagan folded his arms and nodded once. "As you know," he said slowly, watching Hakuryuu's face to gauge his reactions, "I do not care for the happenings of kings, empires or the like. I actually don't think I could care less about the squabbles of humans, or the humans themselves, if I tried. However," he raised a hand quickly to stop Hakuryuu from interrupting, as he had been just about to, "you, little prince, are different. You are genuine, selfless, and strong-willed. I lied to you earlier; I don't hate all humans equally, because I don't hate _you_. I knew I was right when I thought there was something about you. You have my word that I will help you to the best of my abilities. I will make you king, Hakuryuu. And besides," he added in a much lighter tone now, a smile cracking his features, "you're _so_ useless you wouldn't be able to do it without me anyway! Think of me as your saving grace, ok?"

Hakuryuu smiled back at his Djinn, his facial muscles actually _aching _because he hadn't smiled since Sindria, hadn't had a reason to, and he didn't know if he wanted to punch the Djinn for his snide quip at him or if he wanted to hug him for _being there for him_ like no one else had ever been. He chose to smile brightly, letting go of his knees now and sliding down to the floor to sit in front of Zagan, matching his cross-legged position and bowing a little to him, his right fist balled into the open palm of his wooden left hand, taking up the Kou empire's form. "Thank you Zagan, from the bottom of my heart," he smiled, said heart fluttering as he revelled in the fact that he was closer to getting his revenge than he ever had been, "I really, truly cannot thank you enough."

Zagan waved his hand dismissively. "It's no big deal," he said humbly, "but I'll do what I can. I'm here for you." He held his hand out towards his master, who took it and shook it with vigour, both of them grinning at the other. _This _felt like the real contract, their first actual bond between them.

Hakuryuu felt warm and comforted as he climbed into bed later on that evening, rolling over to face Zagan, who was sat on his knees beside the small bed.

"I don't know if it's appropriate to say this or not," the prince said, his cheeks colouring as Zagan watched him intently, "but... I mean, there's only one bed, and there's not a lot of room, so I was wondering, if you aren't bothered by it - I mean, I'm not, I don't mind sharing with people, I shared with Aladdin on the ship to your dungeon and it was no problem-"

"Thank you, but I'll be ok here," Zagan interrupted him with a laugh, making Hakuryuu blush harder at his rambling, "as long as it's acceptable for me to pet your hair as you fall asleep, little prince. You have such lovely hair, I'd love to feel it." _I'd love to comfort you for once in your life, let you know you're not alone anymore. _Since when had he become anything other than vain and selfish? Zagan put it down to Hakuryuu; after all, he had not met a human like him before. Maybe that was all he had needed to stop being so self-centred.

Hakuryuu shrugged, trying to brush the request off as something of little to no importance. "If it pleases you, then do as you will," he said, surprised and grateful at not receiving a jabbing retort about his offer to share his bed with his Djinn. What _had _he been thinking? What had he even _hoped _would be Zagan's answer? He himself didn't know, and didn't want to think about it, putting it down to being emotionally riled from the night's conversation. "Goodnight then, Zagan."

As he blew out the candles on the bedside table and laid back into the horribly thin pillow, he felt long-nailed fingers thread into his hair and stroke through the strands gently, more tenderly than anything he had felt for a saddeningly long time. Hakuryuu felt something bubble up in his chest, felt intensely happy and safe beside the Djinn.

"Goodnight, Hakuryuu."

* * *

I took some liberties with the whole "Djinn's appearing on the earth" thing. If I've got it wrong, then just nod and smile and pretend that all Djinns can run around merrily like Ugo did.


	2. Chapter 2

Hakuryuu wasn't quite sure what was wrong when he woke up early the next morning, his shoulders shaking as the visions of his nightmares slowly subsided. It took him a minute or two to calm down, to realise where he actually was, before he noticed something was _missing_.

Not something. _Someone._

He slumped forwards, his shoulders sagging as he remembered the night before, the way Zagan had caressed his hair until he had fallen asleep, the feeling of security that had enveloped him like a mother would hold her young child, hiding them from all the bad things in the world. Only for Hakuryuu, his newly-found source of comfort had disappeared.

Really though, what else had he expected? Zagan was under no obligation to sit there all night with his sleeping master; did Djinns even sleep? Hakuryuu didn't think so, somehow. But still, he couldn't help the feeling of loss in his chest, as if there was physically something missing. How could he have become so attached to the snarky Djinn so quickly, and so easily? Had he not been teaching himself to become emotionally harder, to not let anyone else in? Only Morgiana was the exception. He suspected it was simply down to the fact that Zagan was the tool that would bring about the revenge he had so desired for too long, that had become his very reason to continue living. Yes, that was it. It couldn't be because of the Djinn himself; he was crude, immature and impossible to get along with most of the time, but last night... Hakuryuu had seen a different side to him, the side that he wanted to see more often.

He shook his head from side to side, stopping only when he started to feel a little dizzy, and gave his cheeks a light slap to help wake himself up. There was no need to pity himself; so what if Zagan wasn't there when he woke up? He was more than used to being alone.

_That doesn't mean to say I like it._

Hakuryuu swung his legs out of the creaking bed, shivering violently as he hurriedly stuffed his slim feet into his boots, craving a shower but reluctant to take his clothes off in such temperatures. He crossed the space between the bed and the window in a matter of paces and tugged the threadbare curtains open to reveal a scene very much unlike the one he had closed them to the night before; the entire city, from what he could see, was covered in thick, crystal-white snow, at least three foot deep from the looks of the tracks in the streets, and it was still falling thick and fast. Hakuryuu groaned, butting his forehead against the window and resting it there in defeat. There was no way he could travel in this weather, meaning he would have to stay where he was for at least one more night.

Taking off his boots again with a shiver, the prince shouldered the towel that the landlord had provided the day before and made his way out of his room to the communal bathroom across the hall from him, glancing at the Djinn's seal on his glaive as he left, wondering what would happen if Zagan decided to appear when he wasn't present. Not that it was possible, but still.

He undressed slowly in the small, dingy bathroom, unwilling to bare more skin to the cold air - he couldn't help but question if the building had any form of heating system at all - and turned on the shower at the wall, standing back to let the water heat up before stepping underneath the stream.

It was deliciously warm on his skin, raising goosebumps on his arms as his cold body warmed up rapidly, drawing out a content sigh from the prince as he poured copious amounts of the communal shampoo onto his hands and spreading it through his loose hair, working it into his scalp with a little groan of happiness; giving himself a head massage was one of his small pleasures in life.

"Good morning, Hakuryuu."

Hakuryuu let out an extremely undignified squeak and stumbled backwards in fright, looking around for the owner of _that _voice, that voice that had bade him goodnight just hours ago, but there was no one else in the bathroom.

"Zagan," he hissed, covering his crotch with his flesh hand for modesty (he couldn't be sure that Zagan couldn't feel what he felt through his wooden one), his cheeks a lovely shade of pink, "what are you _doing_? Can you see anything?"

Zagan chuckled in his infuriating manner; forget what he thought earlier, Hakuryuu _definitely _didn't like his Djinn now. "Of course I can, you fool. You know I can; I knew you were looking at that bar maid last night, remember? Ah, but," he added hastily as Hakuryuu groaned in defeat and sunk his face into his wooden hand at the shame of it all, "I can only see what you see, don't worry. Just don't look at anything you don't want me to see."

"Convenient," Hakuryuu muttered into his palm, "considering there's a mirror directly opposite me once I pull back the shower curtain. Did you... Did you _plan _this?"

"What, plan to get an eyeful of you in the shower?" Zagan asked, his voice shaking with laughter within his mind, "don't be so arrogant, little prince, I don't actually want to see your naked body, you're safe."

_That's not what you implied at the pub last night._

Hakuryuu's cheeks darkened in colour as he finished washing his hair with his eyes firmly shut, groping blindly for his towel once he was done and wrapping it around his slight body tightly. "I wish you'd _tell _me when you're present," he said, a whiny edge to his tone as he shut himself back in his room moments later, "it freaks me out when you're just suddenly... There." He stuffed his legs into a clean pair of underwear while staring resolutely at the wall opposite, not taking as much care to not see himself when he started pulling up his trousers and various layers and boots.

"But I'm _bored _being shut away all the time," Zagan whined, "it's like being back in the dungeon when I can't talk to you, except I don't have my little darlings around to keep me company anymore."

"Then why did you disappear last night?"

There was definite rejection in his voice now, and Hakuryuu couldn't help himself. It had been too nice, too comforting to fall asleep with someone beside him that he couldn't dismiss it from his mind. He felt he had gotten a lot closer to Zagan the night before and it had meant something to him, the boy who had no one left to open himself to and rely on besides his sister, whose whereabouts he wasn't even entirely sure of. He couldn't explain himself, but having Zagan with him made him more relaxed.

As if the Djinn read his mind (which he most probably did), he was suddenly there, standing in front of Hakuryuu, looking sheepish. Hakuryuu looked away, not wanting to look Zagan in the eyes just yet.

"Look, I'm sorry," Zagan said, laying a hand on his master's good arm as a gesture showing things were fine; Hakuryuu jumped at the touch however. "But I didn't want to drain your magoi unnecessarily, Hakuryuu! There would be no point in tiring yourself out just to have me sit beside you as you sleep, would there?"

Of course there wouldn't. How had he forgotten such an important detail like that? The very reason why Zagan could walk the Earth was because his magoi kept him, a magical being, there. Hakuryuu wished he could gut himself for his stupidity, for letting his stupid mind run away with ideas of rejection - why had he felt rejection in the first place? Zagan was an asshole most of the time, a narcissist and a pervert to boot, not to mention that their relationship was officially one of weapon and wielder and not a whole lot more in between. Even the thought of that made Hakuryuu feel lonely.

"Please, call me Ryuu," he said quietly, "my sister and the Magi of the Kou empire do, although I never gave him permission to do so. I'd... Like it if you would too."

Zagan looked elated, actually _happy _to be granted the use of a nickname for his master, which came as a bit of a surprise to Hakuryuu. "I've been wondering what to call you for a while," he smiled, "I can't keep calling you little prince, no matter how cute it sounds, and 'Hakuryuu' sounds too formal for me. I wish I had a nickname for you to call me now."

"Don't worry about it." Hakuryuu returned the smile, but something caught his eye; something broad and distinctly _blue_. "Zagan," a small frown settling on his brows as he looked his Djinn up and down, "are you not cold? You're pretty, well, bare."

True enough, the only thing the Djinn seemed to be wearing besides his ornate gold necklace and armbands was his pair of loose, puffy white shorts that ended just above his knees; there was so way they could be warm. Hakuryuu's gaze lingered on that strong bare chest a little too long, admiring the lines of Zagan's well-defined muscles just a little too much for him to feel comfortable with what he was doing. It was down to male pride and rivalry; yeah, that's what he told himself firmly.

"Didn't you know?" Zagan asked, eyebrows raised in mild surprise, his master's rapid blinking and slight blush going vastly unnoticed. "Djinns don' t get cold or hot or anything in between. We don't really have body heat, nor do we sweat or shiver. Didn't you notice that when I ran my fingers through your hair? They should be neither cold nor warm."

No, he hadn't noticed; he'd been too focused on the feeling of having Zagan touching him so affectionately to notice anything about temperature.

Ah, that was dangerous territory to be venturing into.

"I don't recall the temperature of your hand, no." Hakuryuu said with a bite to his tone, willing his mind not to stray to unwanted images of more ways in which he could feel his Djinn - as they were spiritually bound, he highly doubted he could get away with thinking such things, however innocent, without Zagan somehow noticing.

"Here, I'll prove it."

It happened instantly, as it should, catching Hakuryuu off guard; Zagan laid an open palm to his master's scarred cheek, cupping his face gently, the innocently simple action making the prince flush pink yet again. Hakuryuu froze, distantly aware of the fact that the Djinn was right, he didn't seem to have any form of temperature oddly enough, although the skin of his hand was ever so, _ever so _slightly warm to the touch, and softer than he would have imagined. However he couldn't focus on that, not when he felt his pulse jump and his cheeks heat up from such a tiny gesture.

This was not right. How, _why_, was he getting so flustered around Zagan? He was male, not his type in the first place and not even strictly human anymore. What about Morgiana? He _loved her_. Just the thought of her made his heart flutter as if on tiny wings. Not that he was in love with the Djinn, no, that wasn't right, wasn't even _close _to right. All of this had to be down to his unfamiliarity with affection from anyone but his sister - that one time Judal had ruffled his hair at the palace, had he not blushed from that? It was the same thing, it couldn't be anything else.

_It couldn't be_.

The usually talkative Djinn stayed silent as he felt the heat radiate from Hakuryuu's cheek as if he were a small furnace. _Ah, this wasn't meant to happen_, he mentally chided himself, _I only touch you and you get yourself flustered. You really don't know what to do in the face of affection, do you little prince?_

Zagan hummed quietly in thought as his thumb rubbed gently against the scarred flesh of his master's cheek, his dark blue eyes narrowed in concentration as he studied the pattern on Hakuryuu's face. "This scar," he said, his voice softer and kinder than usual, "does it give you grief when you see it in the mirror? I could heal it, you know, and your eye too." His long-nailed thumb brushed over the delicate skin under Hakuryuu's damaged eye, the expression on his features warmer, more kindly than any the prince had seen as of yet. "I understand that it serves as a reminder of what you must do, but reminders can be found elsewhere within you - within your heart, Ryuu. I can at least heal your physical scars, if nothing else."

_Well, that was unexpected._

Hakuryuu smiled at Zagan, laying his wooden palm over the top of the hand on his cheek and gently lifting it away. His heart's pace was drumming along faster than he was used to, his nerves on end and yet he could not pinpoint why; nothing had even _happened_. "If you were to heal them," he said quietly, studying the necklace across the Djinn's collarbone instead of looking him in the eyes, "then I wouldn't be me anymore. Do you see? It would be like I was trying to hide from what has happened, instead of showing the world what my mother did. I can't hide from it, nor cover it up; it would be like a disgrace to my lost brothers."

Zagan smiled benignly, wanting to fluff up his master's hair but thinking better of it seeing as it was still damp from the shower. He was once again reminded of why it was Hakuryuu that he had chosen to become his master; he chuckled lightly before slinging an arm around the prince's shoulders instead, flicking his long hair over his shoulder as he did. "How did we get onto something so _serious_, Ryuu?" He asked brightly, "it's far too early for this! Come on, dry your hair and go and get some breakfast, I want to watch you eat. I miss eating." He had been close, too close, to saying something impossibly affectionate, something that he knew he would regret later; changing the subject, relaxing the atmosphere, was the best way to guard them both for now.

Hakuryuu huffed out a sigh, his shoulders drooping as the tension left him in one fell swoop. Zagan really could be impossible, not to mention on the brink of being practically bipolar sometimes. "You're the one who brought it up," he reminded him, slipping out from his grasp and turning to face him, his smile just a little too wide, his eyes just a little too bright, "and now you're telling me what to do? Do you need reminding of who's the master in this relationship?"

"Oh, so now you're classing this as a _relationship_, are you?"

"I-". That should _not _make him stutter. "Of course it is! We formed a contract, you're going to help me, and we're- well, I _hope _I can count ourselves as friends now too!"

Zagan couldn't help the light flush to his own cheeks now. Damn this boy. Friendship with a human, with his master, no less? He had never even considered such a thing conceivable... Before now. "I don't make _friends_, Ryuu," he corrected him, sticking out his tongue as Hakuryuu's expression faltered; picking on him was _fun_, "we are not friends. Our bond transcends anything trivial like friendship, OK? I'm with you for life, little prince, and we can become one entity; I'd say that goes past friendship, wouldn't you?"

_Ah damn it, that's not meant to make Ryuu blush even harder and start fidgeting. Was it the "one entity" line? Probably. _

He couldn't help but want to keep on teasing his master until he made him cry again, but reason won out and he swiftly held his tongue for a change and decided against it.

There'd be plenty of time for that later on.

* * *

He was treading on very thin, very emotional ice and he knew it. The Djinn knew exactly what he was doing and what the outcome of his devotion to Hakuryuu might be. He had known of it to happen before, and the results were never pleasant; there were Djinns out there who'd fallen in love with their king candidates, and their masters to fall equally for them too. He had felt it, knew it was a fact, but couldn't explain how - he just assumed there to be some form of spiritual link between all of Solomon's Djinns. He knew that Paimon, for example, was smitten with her candidate (who had now turned out to be Hakuryuu's sister, much to Zagan's amusement), but the human didn't feel the same in return. That was fine - that was safe.

He had felt the way Hakuryuu's face had heated up just from him touching it earlier, and such a small reaction had been enough to confirm that if he didn't do something very soon, they would soon be venturing into emotional territory that he himself wasn't sure he was entirely comfortable with. Zagan couldn't overlook the fact that Hakuryuu was deeply emotionally scarred and starved of proper affection, not to mention the fact that Zagan was probably the only living thing that Hakuryuu now trusted as much as his beloved sister; as such, it was feasible that the boy could end up emotionally dependent on him, and even mistake feelings of gratitude and safety for ones of love...

Zagan mentally shook his head. No, he told himself, he was looking into this too much. 'Love' was such a strong word, and not one that either he nor Hakuryuu used or felt freely. And yet, somehow, he was aware that his feelings for the young prince were gradually beginning to change against his wishes. He found himself wanting to hold the prince in his arms, to comfort him and hide him from the pain he'd suffered earlier on in his life, and those feelings were alien to Zagan. There was no other human in existence that he would have willingly touched, or wanted to comfort, aside from Hakuryuu, and it would be pathetically naive to tell himself that he only did and felt such things because the boy was his master.

This was further confirmed that night as Hakuryuu had finally opted for changing into the previously neglected pajamas that he had brought with him but never worn, instead favouring to sleep in his day clothes; this had changed upon Zagan's quip on how Hakuryuu was 'no better than a dirty tramp' for sleeping in the same clothes he wore outside. Zagan had had to exert real self control over himself not to look at the prince while he changed (he had been told to turn away or be shut up in the metal vessel again), and that worried him.

He really shouldn't be feeling anything like that, and yet it was so _difficult _to keep in check. He didn't bother entertaining the thought that he only wanted to look out of interest in the extent of Hakuryuu's scar - he knew that would be nothing short of a lie and was honestly bothered by his sincerity on the matter.

But still, he couldn't help any of it. Hakuryuu had summoned him again that night after allowing his magoi to regenerate for a few hours during the day, and now here they were, sitting opposite each other on the creaky bed, keeping one-another company again.

"Tomorrow we'll move on further north, provided the weather lets us," Hakuryuu said, his hands clasped in his lap, his expression thoughtful, "and from there I think we should stop over at the next town we find and stay a night there. I don't know exactly how far away it is from here, but from what the locals said when I asked them it's not too far on foot. Of course, I won't be able to support you outside of the metal vessel, so I'll be going alone on foot like I have for the rest of the journey."

"Boring," Zagan chimed in a sing-song voice, ignoring the resulting frown from his master, "I don't want to be shut away while you have fun travelling."

"I wouldn't say walking is particularly fun..."

"It is if you never get to do it."

Hakuryuu's frown disappeared as he realised Zagan was right. "Sorry," he said as Zagan shrugged, completely unfazed, "but you know I can't keep you out of the vessel for too long. If I had it my way, you'd be out with me around the clock, but I just can't do that."

Ah, but that wasn't _fair_. Zagan raised his eyebrows as Hakuryuu seemed to realise how his comment could be taken and looked flustered. It wasn't fair on him to serve someone as adorable as Hakuryuu could be at times.

"Would you now?" The Djinn said, his voice light and teasing, leaning forward slightly as he rested an elbow on his knees. "Wait a minute, wasn't it just yesterday that you thought I was annoying and didn't want me talking to you? And you say _I'm _the one who's hard to keep up with!"

Damn, the boy was fun to play with. Back was the blush that seemed to frequent his cheeks more these days than ever before in his life, and Zagan revelled in it.

"No, I mean, you were only annoying me at that one moment," the prince hastily corrected his Djinn, slightly concerned that he may have offended him despite knowing that it would take an awful lot more than that to insult Zagan, "and after we talked properly last night I- we're closer now, right?" Ah, he was making himself look a fool yet again, he realised as his cheeks heated up.

Zagan laughed; the way Hakuryuu tried so hard to not upset him was so _cute_. "Yeah, we are," he said, affection for Hakuryuu bubbling up within him. It felt pleasant, being like this with someone.

_No, don't go there you simple being._

Hakuryuu's shoulders relaxed as Zagan chuckled to himself, and he himself smiled sheepishly at the Djinn. "I meant it, you know." He said slowly, quietly, before he could talk himself out of saying anything on the matter. "I really do wish I could support you outside all the time. It must be horrible being locked away."

This wasn't good; why was he getting nervous all of a sudden? It was so uncharacteristic of him, but then again so was the fact that he had opened up so much to someone else, had bared his very soul to another. It really was an indescribable feeling, knowing that Zagan would not, _could not_, betray him or harm him in any way.

Zagan didn't answer straight away, studying the prince's face for a couple of seconds, thinking over what to say to him. "It's not pleasant, I'll give you that," he said at length, choosing his words carefully, skirting around the thin ice that he could so easily crack and shatter; all he would need to do is lean forwards, take Hakuryuu by the chin and then- "But that's the fate of a Djinn I'm afraid. We're just magical beings, reincarnations of our former selves, tools bound to do the bidding of the humans we deem acceptable to challenge the task of becoming kings."

"That's not 'just what you are'."

Was it him, or did Hakuryuu look sad, look sympathetic towards his Djinn?

_Thin ice, Zagan. Wafer thin ice._

"Ryuu," Zagan said, "I don't mean it in a bad way. I don't warrant sympathy for what I became. Solomon saved us all when we became what we are. Being sealed inside a metal vessel and being little more than a magical shadow of my former self is a very small price to pay in exchange for being allowed to continue living."

_For allowing me to meet you, little prince._

Hakuryuu balled his fists in his lap now, his gaze concentrated on them as he felt irrationally saddened by what Zagan had said; how had a simple discussion about the next day's events turned into something like this? "Please don't belittle yourself so much," Hakuryuu said, his voice still quiet, "you're much more than just a tool, Zagan. You're an individual, a person."

"Don't make a face like that for my sake, Ryuu," Zagan scolded gently, going against the niggling voice in his mind telling him not to do anything stupid and laying a hand on his master's knee, "I'm happy being like this. I have more power as a Djinn than I ever did as a human, I don't need to sleep, eat, bathe - it's almost a perfect life." _It's a half life, is what it is. _"Come on, crack out that map of yours, let's plan the route you'll take tomorrow, OK?" Anything to get off this subject, to stop himself from wanting to pull Hakuryuu into his arms to stop him from looking miserable on his behalf.

He knew Zagan was lying. He had never felt so saddened by someone else's situation before in his life; how had all of this not occurred to him earlier? He had had Zagan with him now for a good few weeks, and yet he had never once stopped and thought about how his Djinn must feel, how life must look from his perspective. It must be bleak and lonely, not to mention unfulfilling. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, laying his wooden hand over the top of the Djinn's blue one on his knee, "you have done so much for me, and I have done nothing for you in return. You saved Lady Morgiana from death, you gave me an arm when I lost my own, and you allowed me to cut down that Mother woman when others may have protested against it. I've been so selfish and arrogant, not understanding how you must feel being used as your master pleases without a single regard for how you feel. I've severely misjudged you, Zagan, and I can only ask for your forgiveness now. I promise you that from now on, I'll support you outside of your metal vessel as much as my magoi allows me to." It should have concerned him just how far he was willing to exhaust himself for the sake of his Djinn, but Hakuryuu could think of nothing other than that which he had not noticed until now.

Zagan frowned at him now, despite being deeply touched by what Hakuryuu had said. "Don't be a fool," he said firmly, "if you support my being here constantly, what will happen if you need your magoi in an unexpected fight? You'll be too drained to defend yourself. I'm sorry I made that comment on being bored while you travel; it's no big deal, all right? Forget it."

But he couldn't forget it.

Tears leaked from his eyes before he could stop them, running down his cheeks as he squeezed the hand underneath his own. "You're unbelievable," he said, his voice wavering slightly as he didn't even try to master his tears, "you present yourself as an arrogant, irritating bastard who only loves himself, and yet that's not really you at all, is it? You're constantly lying to try and maintain this image of yours, this barrier you've made to stop yourself getting close to anyone-"

"Ryuu, that's enough, that's not how it is-"

"Yes it is!" He raised his voice to drown out Zagan's, meeting his eyes at last and wishing he hadn't; the shock there was almost too much to bear. "You lied about hating humans - why did you save Morgiana if it were true? Why would you comfort me, talk to me, enjoy being with me if you truly hated humans? You _care_, Zagan, but you don't want to! I can understand because I constantly try to distance myself from others too; I used to think that you made a huge mistake in choosing me because we were like polar opposites, but we _aren't, _you just cover up who you really are. You don't need to do it anymore; that's an order from your master, if you follow orders at all."

Every single nerve in his body screamed in protest as he lend forwards, cried out that _he should not be doing this_, but Zagan found he couldn't stop himself no matter what his better judgment told him. With his one hand still on Hakuryuu's knee, he tucked the other under the base of his skull and pulled him in for a kiss, closing his eyes to the feel of the warm lips pressed so firmly to his. He wasn't expecting to feel Hakuryuu's free hand on his left shoulder, pulling him in closer as the prince responded to the kiss fiercely.

He had done it. Hakuryuu had seen past all the little lies, all the barriers he had put up, and he didn't even question why it was that he felt so at ease with it. They had successfully broken down each other and were now at the mercy of one another. Zagan couldn't find the energy to worry about whether this was actually right or not anymore, because he couldn't recall anything ever feeling better in either his life as a Djinn or as a human in Alma Toran.

_He can see you for who you really are. He can see past what you appear to be._

Hakuryuu couldn't stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks as he sat up on his knees, pulling Zagan in closer, his clothed chest pressing against his Djinn's bare one as his bottom lip was sucked into Zagan's mouth, his teeth closing around it gently and earning a groan from the prince. He couldn't believe this was happening; he had thought about it briefly here and there since the night before, but hadn't expected it to actually happen, and certainly hadn't expected it to feel so _right_. Even the kiss he had shared with Morgiana couldn't compare to this.

"I don't care for a life of my own," Zagan said quietly as he broke the kiss for air, butting his forehead against Hakuryuu's affectionately, "not when I now live to serve you, Ryuu. Don't ever question my happiness again; if I can hold you like this more often, then that is more than enough."

He had been a fool to believe that he shouldn't do this, and yet there was still a hint of worry lingering within him, prodding at his consciousness, asking whether it was right to declare something so bold.

Hakuryuu didn't respond, his heart hammering as he instead dipped his head to kiss the Djinn again, revelling in how liberated he felt now that Zagan had initiated all of this. He couldn't get enough of the feeling of the bigger man against him, noting how his hands now slid down his body to sit on the slight curve of his waist, gripping him gently there as Zagan's tongue lapped at his lips before he opened to it, pushing his own against the invading muscle shyly, having never kissed like this before. A bolt of ecstasy shot down his core at the feel of his Djinn's tongue rubbing needily against his own and the prince gasped into Zagan's mouth, digging his blunt nails into his shoulders.

He was entirely Zagan's, and Zagan was entirely his, both seeing through each other's faults and masks and barriers.

And yet, Hakuryuu wasn't worried in the slightest, because Zagan was permanent. Zagan wasn't going to betray him, leave him or otherwise hurt him.

He realised with a suppressed sob that Zagan was everything that he had given up on ever finding.

"Will you stay beside me again tonight?" Hakuryuu asked, threading his fingers into Zagan's long hair now, enjoying the silky feel of it between his fingers. "Can I... Fall asleep beside you?"

"Anything," Zagan agreed, mouthing a kiss to the mole just under Hakuryuu's lower lip, sucking lightly on it before releasing it with a small pop, "but I won't be able to stay with you all night, Ryuu. I'll go once you're asleep." It wasn't what either of them wanted, but neither had a choice in the matter.

"Will you be here in the morning?"

"Always, my little prince."


End file.
